


Nuts and Cakes

by cestlavieminako



Category: Kamen Rider Gaim
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 10:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2225832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestlavieminako/pseuds/cestlavieminako
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hase wants to make a cake and surprise Jonouchi for his birthday. Wait, cakes SHOULDN'T be crunchy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nuts and Cakes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dihchan](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=dihchan).



The first thing Oren thought when he entered the kitchen at Charmant was that the store had been burglarized. Or perhaps vandalized would make more sense; after all, why else would there be frosting smeared across the surface of the refrigerator (and, unbelievably, the ceiling)? He had his cell phone in hand, preparing to dial the police, when his gaze settled on the dark-haired young man he'd somehow missed amidst all of the mess.

"Hase Ryoji, what _are_ you doing here at this hour? Did you see who made this mess?" Oren demanded, fluttering a hand to indicate the state of the kitchen. At least they didn't open for several more hours, which would give the police plenty of time to investigate, then time to clean and restock whatever the vandals had ruined...

"Huh? Nah, I've been in here all night and didn't see nobody. What, did somebody make a mess of somethin' outside?" Hase asked, brushing a lock of flour-caked hair out of his eyes.

"All night? So then, you..." Oren began, then trailed off. It was far too early in the morning for a headache.

"Yeah. Cuz...well, Jonouchi's birthday is today, and I was gonna surprise him with a cake. I figured, hey, it can't be all that hard, right? I mean, I've been workin' here for a few months now, and I can read a recipe..." With that, Hase trailed off, trying in vain to blow his hair out of his eyes, sending out a tiny puff of flour and...was that fondant?

"And? I'm assuming your masterpiece is finished, non?" Oren hoped it was, at least. Judging by the mess, he figured Hase had had to make more than one cake, and that didn't bode well for their stock of supplies. Yes, that certainly was a headache forming, he thought to himself, moving to the coffeepot--which was, thankfully and mysteriously, somehow free of any debris--and set it to perking. 

Hase grinned proudly, taking hold of Oren's arm and tugging him over to the counter beside the refrigerator. "I kinda got the idea from that cool Melon Knight cake that you were tryin' to make a couple months back. I just had to make it look more like Gridon...and I used walnuts, cuz I don't think you can eat acorns, can you? Jonouchi likes chocolate, so I made some of that fondue stuff to ice it with."

"You mean fondant, Ryoji-kun," Oren mumbled absently, but all of his attention was focused on the oddly misshaped, vaguely cake-looking object on the counter. He supposed if he tilted his head just so, and perhaps squinted? No, no, it still didn't resemble Gridon.

A plate of assorted scraps was suddenly thrust beneath Oren's nose. "There's a lot leftover from when I cut it. Go ahead, try a piece," Hase insisted.

Oren plucked a small piece from the plate, turning it slightly to look at it, before taking a bite, and then promptly trying to not spit it back out. It seemed to be unevenly baked...somehow burned crisp on one side, slightly mushy on the other, with an oddly crunchy texture throughout. It took a moment for Oren to realize that it wasn't the walnuts that Hase had added (which he had, in abundance, and hadn't chopped to a more manageable size), but rather bits of eggshell. 

"So? Did I do good? Think he'll like it?" Hase asked, his eyes hopeful.

"It's...interesting," Oren finally managed, after several moments.

Hase's face fell, his gaze lowering to the misshapen scraps on the plate. "It stinks, right? Man...what the hell was I thinkin'? He's the one who's good at makin' cakes. I should just stick to waitin' tables, huh?" Not even waiting for a response, he gathered everything up and dumped it into the garbage. "Sorry about the mess...I'll clean it up."

"Are you going to just give up and leave it at that?" Oren demanded, once he'd finally managed to discreetly spit the bite of cake into a napkin. "On your sweetheart's special day? Non, I think not!" He pushed a broom into Hase's hands. "Firstly, we are going to make this kitchen spic and span again. Then, I will walk you through making a cake."

Hase blinked in surprise. "Huh? You don't haveta waste your time on that...I mean, don't you have stuff to do to get the place ready before this afternoon?"

"Boy!"

A tiny yelp left Hase's lips, and he stood at attention. 

"I don't frequently make offers like this, you know," Oren pointed out, then smiled. "And I will merely be telling you how to do everything correctly. This cake will be made with your own hands. Isn't that what matters?"

"Well...yeah..." Hase finally admitted.

"Then let's not waste any more time," Oren stated, retrieving the cleaning products, before they both set to work.

It took some time before the kitchen was back to its former spotless state, and they had to restock on eggs and flour, so it was several hours later before they returned to the kitchen to begin cooking.

Hase had a bit of a heavy hand, Oren realized. More than once, an egg was cracked into the bowl with a tad too much force, forcing Hase to patiently chase after the bits of shell that tried to make their way into his recipe. But Oren had trained many a soldier, and many a patisserie, so it was nothing he wasn't used to. And as frequently as Hase called himself dumb, he was a remarkably fast learner.

It was nearly an hour before Charmant's opening time that they finally looked at Hase's creation, which was a much better likeness to Gridon, Oren thought to himself.

"Man, that was a lotta work...but it looks great!" Hase said. "Thank you, Oren-san. I mean...you didn't have to help me, but you did, and I really appreciate it and all...."

Before Oren could reply, the kitchen door opened, and a sleepy-looking Jonouchi walked in. "Huh? You're both here?" His gaze then landed on the cake, and he blinked, surprised. "Is that Gridon?"

"Did you forget what day today is?" Hase asked. Upon seeing the confused look on Jonouchi's face, he rolled his eyes. "You dumbass. It's your birthday. So...um...I made you a cake. And it's edible, don't worry, Oren-san walked me through..."

Oren chuckled as Jonouchi practically launched himself at Hase, hearing the dark-haired boy squawk, "Hey, watch it, don't knock the cake over!" 

He then stepped out of the kitchen to check the display cases, figuring he could give the boys a few moments to themselves before putting them to work.

And, of course, before they tried Hase's cake.


End file.
